Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs White Fringe Tree - TreeTime.ca

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs White Fringe Tree

Prunus x cistena

Chionanthus virginicus

ONLY AVAILABLE BY CONTRACT GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry
White Fringe Tree

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry provides bright reddish-purple leaves that turn bronze-green in the fall. In the spring, tiny flowers with a pinkish white hue bloom. The flowers are small, but the impact comes from the shrub blossoming all at once.

The Purple leaf sand cherry can be susceptible to pests and diseases in more humid areas; a typical life span is approximately 15 years. Not suitable for a privacy hedge on its own but is often alternated with lilacs. Often used as an accent plant that attracts birds and bees.

White Fringe Tree is known for its fringe-like white flowers. It can either grow as a small tree or a large multistemmed shrub. The White Fringe Tree has separate male and female plants. Both male and female flowers have white fringe-like petals, but the male flowers are longer and showier. The female flowers give way to clusters of dark blue to black berries. These berries are not edible for humans but attract birds and other wildlife.

The White Fringe Tree is tolerant of clay soils, saline soils, and air pollution but does not do well in prolonged dry conditions.

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Quick Facts

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Fall colour: dark red
Berries: blue to black
Flowers: pinkish
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
Bark: dark red to purple
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: low
Suckering: medium



Toxicity: the leaves and seed are slightly toxic

Other Names: purpleleaf sandcherry
Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree